After so many times of rain, the spring sunshine shone down on Ovid and Anna's route. Anna had never left the city of Juliana since she was adopted by Julia, so she was understandably excited. Ovid however, kept his cool and distant face - as he normally would - he looked as Anna who was casting excited gazes over the hill at the bustling scenery outside.

Anna laughed, "The scenery here is very different from the capital. The North is a lot more frigid, and the trees look completely different. Although it is still a lot warmer than the Great Dividing Range or the wastelands southwest of the Aeon forest."

Ovid agreed with a nod. "The climate is indeed very fine. It is better than the Mediterranean climate to the south."

Trees lined in fine rows by the roads. Their leaves swept up by the winds, it seemed as if nodding in agreement.

The trees on either side of the road were completely different from their wild counterpart. Their leaves were much broader, as were their trunks, which was thicker than more than the waists of five people combined. 

Without a warning, a black shadow appeared in the distance, towering over the uniformed lines of trees. It was an intimating sight. 

Ovid thought it was another black cloud and took out his makeshift lotus umbrella. The spring weather was indeed as predictable as a woman's temper. 

As the two moved forward, he eventually saw the shadow clearly. At that moment, the clouds in the skies dispersed, as if intimately welcoming the two guests from afar, letting the rays of the spring sun onto that shadow.

It turned out... the shadow was the hugely huge city walls. 

Ovid had not paid attention to the city walls of Julia since he was still dazed from the transportation from his world to the present one but he was certain that the walls surrounding Phalaris were much larger and more magnificent than those of Juliana's. It stood at ten meters in height was and built with a concrete core surrounded by carefully cut limestone, portions of the walls would protrude out, giving visitors and natives alike a feeling of pressure that was hard to describe. It was as if there the soldiers patrolling the watchtowers watching you at any moment.

Overall, the walls gave off a sense of towering solemnness, standing as proof of the city this city possesses to the world.

Anna smiled and explained, "Phalaris doesn't have any saints guarding it. Unlike the capital, where Julia served as the line of defence, Phalaris had to rely on its city walls. If a saint was present, these walls would be obliterated in an instant."

Ovid shook his head, "These saints sound a little absurd."  

Anna could not agree. She had lived alongside Julia for a dozen and a half years, and see many other saints who had or seek relations with Julia. To her, the sweet bagels sold along the side of the road were far more interesting. 

Strangely, it was all clear in front of the city gates; there were no civilians lingering there. Perhaps this was since the bishop Catherine had just arrived at the city, and the gate had to be cleared to welcome her? 

The two walked a little more on the civilian path and gradually slowed. Overwhelmed, Ovid opted to look at his hands instead. He was not expecting the city to be so stunning, and there to be so many people.  

They had reached Phalaris, the largest city in the northern potions of the Julian empire. 

Loud chattering and shouting were common as the tolls were collected. The people of the north were dressed in thick clothing, with many geometric patterns and decorative motifs. Ovid was still wearing the rags that had been severely damaged in the forest. The contrast in appearance was quite jarring.

Still, Ovid and Anna calmly went through the tedious procedure to enter the city. When he met the guards, he gave a slight nod while Anna attended to the bureaucratic works. In the eyes of the anyone, this somewhat pretty peasant was just a beggar with no standing. Ovid however, did not care about his impression in the slightest. 

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

The issues with entering the city were finished without much trouble, and the two were soon strolling the crowded and noisy streets of the city. 

From the guard, they had a roaster in their hand that had the names of some of the cauponae (inns) and hospitiums of the city. The hospitium was targeted more towards the elite, so Ovid thought that would be the best establishment for Anna to rest in. They did not notice that there was a pure white horse was following him. Of course, neither one of them saw the emblem of the clergy on the horses' caparison.

The cauponae were common in the city, yet served only the poor. The domestic staff was certainly slaves, while the accommodation consisted of only a bedroll on the cold floor in a common space filled with strangers. They also served as a brothel.

In comparison, the hospitium had originally functioned for prestigious families to receive important guests. While the cauponae would only provide the bare essentials, the hospitium would provide a much safer and nicer experience, at the very least, the rooms were private. 

When Julia had abolished the class of major families after overthrowing the last emperor of Alexander's empire. Consequently, the hospitium, which was tailored to these families, soon became redundant. In the end, they had repurposed themselves to simply be a superior version of cauponae.

---

"Sorry, but we cannot accept you." 

The somewhat old servant that attended to the front desk of the hospitium said cold.

Anna furrowed her brows, looking at the handful of hyperpyrons that was more than enough to let them stay at the 'Central Plaza' for more than a month, she asked, "Why?" 

"Because someone said so," the old servant answered.

"Who?"

"Sorry. I cannot tell you who." 

"The 'Central Plaza' had stood for over fifty thousand years. It could defy the orders from even the strategos. Who could make a place like yours to follow such an order?" Anna asked earnestly without a single trace of mockery in her words.

Anna had brought her and Ovid two drapey cloaks soon after they arrived at the city. Not many ordinary people were aware of what the youngest princess of the empire looked like. Without the conspicuous purple stola, aside from a few of the higher-ups in the clergy, and the strategos of the empire, no one could tell that Anna was the adopted sister of Julia. 

She was confident that Catherine would not tell others of her identity because that would make the bishop's plans to replace Ovid utterly redundantly. Little did she know that not being unable to reveal her identity and present her frightening background would be so inconvenient.

The old servant shook her head and repeated, "Sorry, I cannot tell you who." 

Ovid sighed and tugged Anna's sleeves. Before long, the two of them turned and left.

The person who had been three spots behind them in the lines looked at them and said scornfully, "The 'Central Plaza' has a reputation for being extremely hospital. The two of you must have some serious failing to be kicked out. Look at yourself, one of you look like a beggar and the other one an idiot."

The people lining for the hospitium were interested in anything to distract themselves, one of the other waiting in the line joined in. "That may not be the case. The two of them probably is just lacking in money. Look at the cloaks they are wearing, with a glance, I can tell that I came from the South markets, which no self-respecting person would ever go to."

Soon, much of the line were laughing among themselves and recklessly commenting on Ovid and Anna. Their words were harsh to the ears and no attempts were made to control its volumes. Clearly, they wanted it to be heard by the two it was targeted at. The worst thing was, their statements carried no falsehood in them, the cloaks were indeed bargained at the South market which was known to be where the poor resides in. 

Both Ovid and Anna were tolerant people, but they could not bear such insults. Ovid lowered his head and reduced the presence of himself while Anna's face turned bright red. 

In the end, the two of them both had a good education and did not turn their heads and shout back at the crowd. 

---

Ovid and Anna went to three more hospitium, and the reception they received was the same as those at 'Central Plaza'. However, on the fourth time, the scornful gazes no longer mattered to the two any more - in other words, they had grown numb to it.

Perhaps Anna was not aware, but Ovid fully understood that there were people interfering behind their back. As for their identity, it was even clearer to Ovid. 

Since he knew who the people preventing him and Anna into any prestigious hospitium is, he could also guess what they want. He unfolded the piece of paper containing all the establishments in the city and went straight down to the last one written.

There wasn't a name for the last cauponae listed on the paper. The guard was born quite close to the street the cauponae is on, though she had never visited the space, and as such, was unaware of anything about it other than its name. The street was called 'North Weave', though when Anna asked the guard why it was called that, the guard could only shake her head and answer that it was called that long before her grandmother's times.

Walking into the North Weave street, Ovid found that it was quite close to the city walls, so close that Ovid could see the signs on weathering on the bricks of the wall? Confusion festered in Ovid's mind and he wanted to ask for directions. Yet the entire street seemed to be deserted, with not a soul in sight. The two of them stood at the entrance of the street yet no one passed by.

Ovid told Anna to remain at the mouth of the street and walked to its end. Finally, he saw the entrance to the door to the cauponae. Among the street's walls covered by overgrown weed, the door and the two sides surrounding it stood unusually clean, without a trace of dust.

There was a simple name carved onto the wall that said: 'North Weave'. The corners of the words were eroded harshly by wind and storms. If Ovid did not look closely, he would be unable to find it at all.

Staring at the wall, Ovid remained silent for a long time. He was feeling excited despite knowing the condition of the cauponae would be quite terrible. However, in such an abandoned place, he would not be sleeping with strangers and the owner was certainly alive since the cauponae was so clean. 

Most importantly, the entire street was completely silent. 

His hand touched the door and lightly pushed.

A light humming sound one would expect from a well-oiled door came out. 

Who knows when it was the last time this door opened?